Vanuatu replaces pro-West PM Kalsakau, with Sato Kilman who wants closer Beijing ties, amid China-US rivalry in Pacific

Sato Kilman replaces Ishmael Kalsakau, who was seen as friendly to the West, in a region where the US and its allies are wrestling with Beijing for influence

Kilman has held the PM post before and has clashed with neighbouring Australia. In 2015, he met Xi Jinping and pledged for closer ties with China

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Vanuatu parliament has elected Sato Kilman as prime minister. Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images

Published: 5:38pm, 4 Sep 2023

Vanuatu’s parliament elected Sato Kilman as the nation’s new prime minister on Monday after a court upheld a vote of no-confidence in the nation’s former leader and amid China-US rivalry in Pacific Islands.

Kilman, a former prime minister and leader of the People’s Progressive Party, was elected prime minister by 27 of 50 lawmakers in a secret ballot.

Vanuatu was plunged into political crisis last month when opposition parties lodged a no-confidence petition criticising then leader Ishmael Kalsakau for actions including signing a security pact with Australia.

Opposition lawmakers said the security pact with Australia compromised Vanuatu’s “neutral” status and could jeopardise development help from China, its biggest external creditor.

Ishmael Kalsakau was replaced as Vanuatu’s PM on Monday. Photo: Monday

A Vanuatu court on Monday dismissed an appeal against a ruling that the no-confidence motion had been won by the opposition parties.